One of the challenges for alternative proteins, particularly plant-based ones, is developing a product that mimics the taste of traditional meat.
Many startups have taken on this challenge. But the co-founders of Ingredientan Israeli food tech startup and alum of SOSV's Indie Bio incubation program, say they are inventing better-tasting lab-grown proteins that are up to 10 times less expensive to produce.
Of course, one caveat is that your product won't just be plants. The company is making “meat, dairy and egg hybrids,” combining traditional animal proteins with plant-based ingredients.
Some say that absence of fat in the products is what causes the taste problem. But Ingrediome's co-founders say the texture of alternative proteins is the real culprit. The texture is a result of the way fats, proteins and water combine.
Aviel Even and Michael Kaholi, who founded the company in 2022, hope to address texture by developing recombinant Animal matrix proteins made from carbon dioxide to produce alternative meats and seafood. Recombinant proteins are those that are manipulated so that they can be produced in greater quantities.
“We use our meat proteins, oils, water and spices to come up with our formulation, and that allows us to create a clean label product,” Even told TechCrunch. “This much more closely replicates the way real meat is cooked. Our meat proteins are cooked the same way, in the same temperature range, etc. “The nutritional values are very similar because we replicate what you would find nutritionally, at least in terms of protein.”
Making proteins involves copying the genes responsible for producing a variety of animal proteins and then teaching microorganisms how to produce them using carbon dioxide from the air and natural sunlight as raw materials. Their production environment includes photobioreactors located on the roof of their office.
By using CO2- and sunlight-consuming microorganisms as feedstock in photobioreactors, Ingrediome will be able to more affordably scale a lab-grown meat operation, Even and Kaholi say. Production costs have been a major inhibitor. avoiding more alternative proteins new companies bring their products to the market. These founders say their production method is up to 10 times less expensive than precision fermentation, another popular method for producing cultured meat.
Signed contracts
At two years old, Ingrediome is still quite early and it will be at least two more years before it can make enough product to sell to traditional meat companies. Still, its founder says the company has progressed quickly. He has engineered four of the five proteins he targets to produce his bacteria and algae CO2, he says, and also grew two of those proteins in 100 liters. He has also successfully prototyped his meat ingredients.
The company has already signed an 18-month collaboration with a European ingredients company and has a joint research and development agreement with an Israeli delicatessen company, as well as a letter of intent for a commercial partnership with another company.
Ingredient It closed a financing of 2.46 million dollars to date to design that fifth protein and expand it to 1,000 liters of its bacteria to produce meat. The investment came from an investment group that included SOSV, Siddhi Capital, Meach Cove Capital, Beyond Impact and Alumni Ventures and Genesis Consortium.
Next, the company plans to file a GRAS notice with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which stands for “generally recognized as safe.” It is a designation given to companies that manufacture food substances.
“We are ramping up to producing 300 liters of bacteria per year, but our next phase is 1,000 liters, although 20,000 liters is not far away,” Even said. “I think we will be able to get there in late 2025 or early 2026 and be able to produce thousands of kilograms of meat a year.”
